My 5 year old son had his first full week of kindergarten! I watched my baby looking so grown up and so little at the same time, bravely walk into his new classroom wearing an oversized backpack and not knowing anyone. By Friday, I saw him walk into the same classroom but this time wearing a big smile and chatting with a new friend. I think those images will be forever burned into my brain. Needless to say, I am incredibly proud of him and wanted to do something ridiculously sweet for him to celebrate his first true “weekend”. (I had to explain to him what “weekend” meant.)

So we had ourselves an apple pie party on Friday night, complete with 5 different filling variations! Continue reading →

Last year I made spicy apple butter via the slow cooker… it was so good I made it this year too. But I also made applesauce, which is essentially the same ingredients and cooking method but the cooking time is much shorter.Continue reading →

Sadly my mom has gone back to the East coast, and as I folded the clothes this morning I realized it was the first time I had done laundry in 2 weeks. Ugh. I miss you mom. Not only does the woman do laundry and babysit, but she bakes too! She picked out an apple cobbler recipe from my Mark Bittman “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” book, threw it together in seconds. I didn’t know she was baking until I smelled something like hot apple pie coming from the kitchen.Continue reading →